3/4
Cesc Fabregas and Ashley Cole

4/4
Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger has never doubted Arsenal's technical ability but he's now convinced that his young team also have the aggression to sustain the momentum of their title challenge.

The narrow 1-0 win over Chelsea in a fractious, thrilling match confirmed to all those with title ambitions this season that Arsenal will not surrender their place at the top of the Premier League without a considerable fight.

They briefly relinquished top spot when champions Manchester United won 1-0 at Liverpool yesterday afternoon but, a couple of hours later, Wenger's men restored their one point lead when a rare misjudgement by the normally outstanding Petr Cech gave his former team mate William Gallas the chance to head the game's only goal.

It was a costly mistake. Chelsea now slip six points behind Arsenal, who enjoy a seven point lead over Manchester City and a 10 point lead over Liverpool, languishing in fifth place.

Wenger, facing two tough away games over Christmas at Portsmouth and Everton, relishes the challenge to Arsenal's current supremacy and expects all of England's big four clubs to stay in contention in the closest title race for years.

The Arsenal manager said: "Liverpool have had the biggest disappointment but they are not out of it. Neither are Chelsea because they showed today they are a quality team.

"We are confident. The belief is there but I prefer that it remains a four horse race because it is far more interesting.

It makes a day like today great for the Premier League. As long as there are four teams in it the interest in the Premier League is even bigger."

What pleased Wenger most about Arsenal's performance was the enthusiasm with which they matched Chelsea's more physical game.

"We have shown great character in the fight today, in the one-to-one duels," he said. "We were dominant on that front and that is not the case usually."

It's not often, for instance, that anyone gets the better of Chelsea's John Terry in a one-to-one confrontation but there's no doubt that the England captain came off worse when Emmanuel Eboue tackled him in the 35th minute.

Eboue was cautioned - one of nine bookings by referee Alan Wiley - and Terry limped off with an ankle injury to face the inevitable worry about his fitness over the Christmas holiday period. He will have a scan today and, with Ricardo Carvalho already ruled out, any long lay off may force manager Avram Grant into the transfer market next month.

Grant believed Wiley was justified in flourishing his yellow card as often as he did and had no complaints about the treatment given to his full back Ashley Cole by the Arsenal crowd. He was playing at Arsenal for the first time since his controversial transfer to Chelsea and was jeered every time he touched the ball. "I think it motivated him," said Grant. "He's a big boy and it wasn't a problem for him. He played well."

Unbeaten since their 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford in September, Chelsea defended well against Arsenal's impressive counter-attacking game. "I thought we deserved a draw," said Grant. "We had our chances, too, but Manuel Almunia was very good and made two great saves."

The Spanish goalkeeper did well to deny Jon Obi Mikel and Andriy Shevchenko, though Chelsea's best chance fell to Shaun Wright-Phillips in the 75th minute. A long ball from the left skimmed off the head of Gallas and fell at the feet of the unmarked Wright-Phillips who, from about four yards, screwed his shot wide of the goal.

Arsenal had more and better chances and it was ironic that, for all their neat inter-passing, they needed a set piece for the goal that secured all three points. Cech's careless clearance at the end of the first half presented Arsenal with the corner that was to embarrass the Chelsea goalkeeper.

Cech flapped at, and missed, the corner from Cesc Fabregas and Gallas, having nudged substitute centre half Tal Ben Haim out of the way, headed the ball into an empty net.

Gallas, who provided the last minute equaliser in Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Manchester United last month, earned a special word of praise from Wenger. "He's a leader and like all good leaders he pops up when you need him," said the Arsenal manager.

For his part, the French defender denied feeling any sense of revenge for his former club's amazing attack on his integrity when he left. The west Londoners claimed Gallas threatened to score an own goal if he stayed at Stamford Bridge during the transfer episode that marked his acrimonious departure 16 months ago. But Gallas said: "For me the more important thing was my players, my team. I didn't think about myself.

"Before I went on the pitch I said to myself, 'I have to play well'. That's it.

"It's not revenge for me. What they did and what they said is behind me. For me, it is the past. Now I am with my new team and I just want to give everything for my team and my club and win the trophies."

It was Arsenal's first win over Chelsea in 12 attempts and, after dropping five points at Newcastle and Middlesbrough, did much to restore belief in their ability to out-pace United and Chelsea in the title race.

"We deserved the points and the way we played reflected the great spirit in the team," insisted Wenger, who now turns his attention to tomorrow night's Carling Cup quarter final clash at Blackburn.